**Lara dropped in sponsors dispute **](BBC SPORT | Cricket | International Teams | West Indies | Lara dropped over sponsorship row)
Brian Lara and six other West Indies players will not be selected for series against South Africa and Pakistan.
West Indies Cricket Board president Teddy Griffith made the announcement in a live radio and TV broadcast.
The decision has been taken because the players have personal sponsorship deals with Cable & Wireless which conflict with the board’s main backer, Digicel.
The others are Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and Ravi Rampaul.
In a 4,000 word address, Griffith said the Board could not “allow the whole structure of West Indies cricket to be put in peril” as a result of individual contracts which would benefit a few players and not Caribbean cricket as a whole.
"The Digicel sponsorship agreement has given the Board the opportunity to substantially fund the development of cricket generally, which is its mandate.
“For the first time, sponsorship of this nature goes beyond the international team and channels right through to the level of youth cricket, assisting the preparation of a future generation of cricketers,” he added.
The deal with Digicel is worth £10.5m over five years and is the biggest in West Indies cricket history.
But it led to major problems before and during the recent tour to Australia which saw the Board and the West Indies Players’ Association at loggerheads.
In a memo, which was leaked after the tour, Digicel’s Richard Nowell described the players as “the poorest ambassadors from any representative team I’ve come across”.
Cable & Wireless, meanwhile, say they have made “reasonable concessions” to ensure there is no threat to the series against South Africa and Pakistan going ahead as planned.
Rachelle Franklyn, senior vice president for corporate marketing, said they would limit appearances by players in their advertising to avoid visually inferring the company were a team sponsor.
Grenada’s prime minister Keith Mitchell, who acted as mediator to ensure the tour to Australia went ahead, described the Board’s latest move as “extrememly unfortunate”.
The WICB, meanwhile, is expecting a £3m budgeted loss in the current financial year, which will increase their cumulative deficit to £7.28m.
Details of their financial position come at a time when the Board is also at odds with WIPA, who have appointed former Test oepener Desmond Haynes as their new secretary, over payments to players.
They are offering retainer contracts which would be worth £41, 000 a year to top players, plus match fees up to £1,870 for Tests and £1,300 for limited overs internationals.
Griffith said WIPA’s proposals for retainer contracts would cost 45% more than the Board’s current offer, while match fees would cost 32.5% more. The two sides do not have long to resolve their various differences with the South African squad due to arrive in the Caribbean on 25 March. The loss of Lara would be a major blow to their chances of success, while Gayle and Sarwan would be two of leading candidates to replace him as skipper.
